Ninth-Inning Lead Disappears, Pelicans Lose 8-7 to Woodpeckers 

By Sam Weiderhaft

With a two-strike count and two outs in the ninth, Nehomar Ochoa Jr. hit a solo home run to tie the game 7-7 and the Fayetteville Woodpeckers went on to beat the Myrtle Beach Pelicans in 10 innings 8-7 on Saturday night. The loss dropped the Pelicans to a 32-42 record and 3-5 in the second half while the Woodpeckers moved up to 33-41 and 4-4 in the second half. Fayetteville has won three of the five games this week.

Angel Hernandez (1-2) took the loss by giving up the solo homer in the ninth and the go-ahead run in the tenth. Starter JP Wheat lasted one inning with two unearned runs and four walks. Mason McGwire came on in relief and allowed four earned runs through his four innings.

Alfonsin Rosario (2-5, HR, RBI) hit the Pelicans’ second home run of the week and posted multiple hits. Andy Garriola (2-4, 2B, RBI) continued his tear with a two-hit game and an RBI. Frank Hernandez (3-5, RBI) also added three singles and one run driven in.

Ochoa Jr. (1-4, HR, RBI, BB) was the hero for Fayetteville with his solo homer in the ninth. Xavier Casserilla (2-4, 2B, 3 RBI) brought home the go-ahead run in the 10^th on a double. Victor Diaz (1-5, HR, 3 RBI) also went deep in the fourth for a three-run homer.

Julio Marte (1-4) spun four shutout innings in relief with no hits allowed and just one walk while striking out two to earn the win and give the Woodpeckers a chance. Amilcar Chirinos struck out three in the 10^th to take the save.

Both teams scored in the opening frame as the Woodpeckers got started with a two-run first. With the bases loaded, Chase Jaworsky reached on a fielding error by Drew Bowser at first as the first run came in. Caserrilla later walked as the second run came across.

The Pelicans answered in the bottom half. With Chris Paciolla on third, Cristian Hernandez grounded out to short as Paciolla scored. Rosario followed with his 10^th home run of the season with a solo shot to left-center to tie the game. The Pelicans later took the lead on an RBI single by Miguel Pabon to left field to take the lead.

The Woodpeckers scored four in the fourth to grab the lead back. Caserilla hit a single to right with a runner on second to tie the game at three. Diaz later snuck a three-run home run over the wall in the right field corner to put Fayetteville on top 6-3.

Myrtle Beach posted a four-run inning of their own in the bottom of the fifth. With runners on the corners, Garriola hit an RBI double to left. Frank Hernandez followed with an RBI single as Garriola moved to third. Both runners scored on Drew Bowser’s single to left followed by a fielding error by Cesar Hernandez as the Birds took a 7-6 lead.

The game would stay that way until the ninth. With two outs and a 1-2 count, Ochoa Jr. hit a solo homer just over the left field wall to tie the game at seven. The Woodpeckers went on to take an 8-7 lead in the 10^th on an RBI double by Casserilla.

The Pelicans stranded runners on second and third as Chirinos struck out the final three batters to end the game.

The series concludes on Sunday night at 6:35 p.m.